It’s been reported today that former Westlife star Nicky Byrne has been left furious that his band mate Kian Egan landed a fee of £100,000 for taking part in this year’s I’m A Celebrity – which he of course won – while Nicky was paid only £25,000 for competing in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

And while £25,000 is more than a year’s salary for many – and Strictly only runs for a matter of a few weeks – it seems that Nicky’s upset that he’s apparently not worth as much as his former band mate.

The Daily Star Sunday quote a source close to Nicky as saying, “Since the split there has been a lot of bad blood between the boys over their careers.

“Nicky was angry and hurt by the difference in their payouts as it creates an unhealthy competition among them.

“He wonders why Kian is worth so much more than he is.”

The paper adds that Nicky “eventually bagged £60,000 for his Strictly performance,” which was an added bonus for making it through to the show’s semi-finals, but he still earned £40,000 less than Kian did for his stint in the jungle.

But there again, while the worst that Nicky endured on Strictly was probably chaffing from lycra and possible discomfort from a dislodge sequin or two, Kian had to eat genitals and be coated with bugs while enduring near starvation for three weeks. So as reasons for the difference in pay go, I think they’re valid ones.

However, the insider added, “It’s very sad to see such animosity between them after so many years of success and friendship but things change.

“They’re barely speaking. They’re all looking out for number one now.”

Meanwhile, in other Westlife news, it’s also been reported that Shane Filan is set to go head-to-head with Mark Feehily in a battle for chart supremacy as their first solo albums hit the shops.

Shane released You And Me last month, while Mark’s album will go on sale early in the New Year.

An insider said, “Mark is hoping for big things next year and if it means casting a dark cloud over Shane’s career then so be it.”

Lynn is an editor and writer here at Unreality TV and is a trained psychotherapist and the author of two books. She's addicted to soaps, period drama and reality TV shows such as X Factor, Big Brother, BGT and I'm A Celeb.